


Keep Talking

by Vandereer



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Mentions of Death, Multi, Nakama, just a load of chattin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 7,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26331463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vandereer/pseuds/Vandereer
Summary: A collection of various snapshots and conversations between various characters. From friendships, to rivalries and everything inbetween. Mild frobin, zolu and acesan. (And I mean mild, like the fruit flavour in a can of lacroix)
Relationships: Brook & Roronoa Zoro, Coby & Sabo (One Piece), Franky & Usopp (One Piece), Franky/Nico Robin, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Thatch, Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro, Nico Robin & Roronoa Zoro, Portgas D. Ace & Roronoa Zoro, Portgas D. Ace/Vinsmoke Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper & Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper & Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 19
Kudos: 47





	1. Ace and Zoro - Luffy

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a bunch of dialogue practice suggested by my dear friend Kite on my tumblr account, but WOW I didn't expect them to blow up in popularity!  
> The format is two characters + a subject matter so I will be naming chapters according to that.  
> I've decided to upload them here to better help anyone to keep track of them if they so wish.  
> I've really enjoyed writing these so yeah, enjoy!

_“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen." - Stephen Hawking_

* * *

“It’s kinda weird y’know.” Ace said with a smile, as Zoro heaved himself back up the rope ladder of the Merry.  “You’ve been with Luffy for a few months and the two of you act like you’ve been crew mates for  _ years!  _ The way you two fight together is pretty damn impressive! _ ” _

Zoro cleared his throat and folded his arms, but Ace could tell he was pleased. “Well, it’s not  _ always _ like that, you haven’t seen how many times he misfires his rocket attack and almost breaks my spine every week.”

Ace cackled and slapped him on the back. “All par for the course, I’m sure! I dragged my own first mate into some pretty wild capers, back when I had command of my own ship that is.”

Zoro made a thoughtful noise, compelling Ace to keep running his mouth. 

“Deu always used to tell me he would follow me into hell, he went along with me cause he trusted me y’know? You must love Luffy a lot.”

Zoro turned to him, wide-eyed and blushing from his cheeks straight up to his ears. “What?”

“Oh, I mean, cause you haven’t strangled him to death in his sleep yet. I mean, bein’ in Luffy’s circle means gettin’ injured a lot, but you hafta love him a lot to put up with it long-term.”

“Oh.”

Zoro turned away, almost furtively. Just then, Ace thought he understood just fine what was going on. “No way, you _don’t_!”

“Don’t  _ what?” _

Ace paused, not wanting to poke the bear, or more appropriately poke the tiger, judging by the names of some of Zoro's attacks. He grinned, in a way to hopefully diffuse the grumpy look on Zoro’s face. “Ah, forget about it!”

  
He never imagined his goofy little brother to be the type that his crewmates would get crushes on. 

_ You’re killing it out there, little bro. _


	2. Zoro and Robin - Cats

Robin stops on the street corner as soon as she spies the little grey cat, dozing peacefully on a wall in the sunshine. She reaches out slowly, until the cat lifts its head, then raises its chin for her to rub gently underneath. 

She turns to Zoro with a coy smile. “It reminds me a little of you.”

“Why am I like a cat?” Zoro says, his eyebrow raised.

Robin titters, stroking the cat until something like a pleased smile forms on its face. She can feel the soft thrumming of its purring more than hear it.

“You sleep a lot during the day, you’re wary of new people, and-”

She pauses. The phrase ‘like herding cats’ seems applicable to more than a few members of the Straw Hat crew at times, and Zoro is probably the most egregious example. 

Whenever she thinks of the younger man, she pictures him standing apart from most of the crew, either napping or training on his lonesome. Not that she is much of an exception. She can’t think of a way of verbalizing this without offending her companion, instead saying;

“-and, you’re very sweet once you open up.”

“Hmph.” Zoro reaches out and gives the cat a scratch behind the ear. “If you say so.”


	3. Franky/Robin - Plans for the future

“Oi, Robin. What are you gonna do after our journey’s over?”   
“Hm?”

Franky grins at her from where he’s relaxing in an oversized plush chair. “I mean, once Luffy becomes the king of the world and all, we’re gonna have to find  _ somethin’ _ to occupy the rest of our lives, right?” 

Robin, looks down at her hands, chuckling sadly. “I can’t say I’ve really thought about it. It’s hard to plan for the future, when I was living day to day, not sure if I’d live to get to this age.”

Franky’s face falls, and Robin feels a twinge of guilt. He was possibly only making light conversation, not expecting such a genuine answer out of her. “Why do you ask?”

Franky runs a hand over the back of his neck. “To be honest, I’ve been havin’ such a super time with everyone, I get a little sad thinking about us all goin’ our separate ways. I’ve gotten so used to bein’ a pirate I can’t think about doin’ anything else!”

“Even if we do part ways, they say that endings are just the start of new beginnings, new adventures.” Robin says with a smile.

“Well, if that’s the case-” Franky seems to get a little flustered, fumbling with his words. “-I’d like you to be part of my next adventure, if that’s okay with you?”

  
Robin nods. “I think I’d like that very much.”


	4. Chopper and Sanji - Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I teared up a little while writing this ok. listen to doctor from the homestuck soundtrack)

The little  reindeer yawned as he gazed skyward, sat on the deck of the Merry with his big eyes wide. He sat without his pink hat on, already having put it away in favour of a little night-cap. Chopper was up way past his usual bedtime, as Sanji was thinking about turning in for the night himself.

“Gettin’ late, Chopper.” Sanji said.

Chopper turned to him with bleary eyes, tears at the corners from yawning. He smiled happily, despite his apparent tiredness. “Oh, I lost track of time!”   
“You like the stars, huh?” Sanji said, fumbling around in his pocket for his cigarettes.

Chopper nodded happily. “I never got to see them much back home, not until the summer anyway. The sky was always too covered with clouds.”

Chopper wrinkled his nose a little as Sanji lit up his cigarette. Sanji turned his head to breathe out his lungful of smoke, so the wind would carry it away from his companion.

“When the sky got a little clearer,” Chopper continued, “I would stay out for hours looking up at them, at all the constellations.”

“Which one is your favourite?” Sanji asked with a smile.

“Oh, well, I never knew that many. Just the Big Reindeer, the Reindeer and the uh-” Chopper pointed out a tiny belt of stars with his hoof “-the little reindeer.”

Sanji had heard him mention something about his herd rejecting him due to the odd blue colour of his nose. He could picture the tiny reindeer, gazing up at the clear winter sky alone and stark against a field of snow. 

“There wasn’t much else to do at night,” Chopper continued, “the rest of my herd didn’t like me much, so I would talk to the Reindeer stars. Even when the clouds covered them up, I knew they were still there.” 

Sanji discarded the rest of his pre-bedtime cigarette, in favour of sitting down on the deck next to Chopper. He knew the ‘Big Reindeer’ as Leo the lion, and the ‘Little Reindeer’ as the belt of Orion, but that kind of stuff never meant a whole lot to Sanji. 

“I know they probably have other names, but for a while they were the only friends I had. Sorry, it’s silly…” Chopper said quietly.

“It’s not silly.” Sanji patted the top of Chopper’s fluffy head. “The stars weren’t created with the names attached, it’s just mankind’s way of making sense of things.”

His hand paused as a memory came to him, of reading about astronomy as a child. Reiju had made some remark, about the stars being so many light-years away that when the light reached you, it meant the star had already burned away to nothing. One day even the sun would burn out, Reiju told him.

Sanji didn’t feel like sharing that fact with Chopper, and continued patting his dense, plush fur. “He looks kind, the Big Reindeer.”

“Yep! He’s really big and strong, and he takes care of the Little Reindeer. See look! Those stars over there are his antlers.”

“Yeah, I see it, Chopper.”


	5. Zoro and Brook - Swords

“What’s your swor d’s name?” Zoro asked.

The question threw Brook off. It was probably the most Zoro had spoke since Brook had joined the Strawhats, not so long ago.

Brook brandished his cane upright, close to his ribcage. “Her name is Soul Solid! A fine, distinguished lady!”

“May I see it?”

Brook hesitantly no dded, he felt like Zoro even asking was a tremendous matter. Zoro seemed to dislike anyone touching his swords, especially Wado Ichimonji that he held so close even while he slept.

Zoro murmured thoughtfully as he pulled the cane-sword out of its sheath, his steely grey eyes flicking up and down the metal work. Zoro put the sheath aside, ever so carefully onto the deck. “It’s a good blade, you must take great care of it.”

“She is rather stylish too, wouldn’t you say?” Brook would have waggled his eyebrows, if he had eyebrows that is.

Zoro shrugged, holding the sword up towards the sun so it could catch the light. “A sword’s worth is how well you wield it, not how it looks.”

Brook chuckled a small ‘yohoho’. Zoro’s blades were beautiful, moonlight white, blood red and black as oil, but he supposed he had a point. And Zoro absolutely wielding his - with fine grace and brute power. It often made Brook a little envious.

“Not any rust to be seen…” Zoro muttered, as if he were talking to himself. 

“Yes, well. I wouldn’t be much of a swordsman if I allowed my dear lady to rust. If I saw even a speck of rust on her edge I might just die of shame! Ah, though I am dead already!”

Zoro gave him his smile that wasn’t quite a smile and clicked Soul Solid back into her sheath. Brook accepted her back to the crook of his arm when Zoro offered it. “Did you have any doubts?”

“No, I’m impressed is all. For a sword over fifty years old, it looks brand new.”

Brook gave a humble little bow. “She and I are young at heart, there’s still some life left in us yet!”


	6. Marco and Thatch - Immortality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mention of death/slight suicide
> 
> little swearing also.

“ Do you think you’ll live forever?” Thatch asked, chomping on an apple like a horse.

It was a question Marco got a lot, and it wasn’t one he appreciated, to be quite honest. He had eaten his Devil Fruit like so many others, not understanding what he was getting into, and thinking about his own mortality put the shits up him.

He couldn’t blame Thatch for not knowing, since he was new in Whitebeard’s crew.

“No,” Marco answered, “I believe I’ll get old and die someday, same as everyone else, yoi.”

The corners of Thatch’s mouth curved in a smile, he paused to spit an apple seed over the side of the ship. “Didn’t mean to offend you, just never met anyone with a mythical Zoan fruit before.”

“I should start making pamphlets, with answers to questions I’ve been asked a thousand times on them.” 

Marco rolled his eyes as Thatch leaned in closer, that irritating smile still on his face. “How about I change it up a little, and posit you the question; would you  _ want _ to live forever?”

“No,” Marco scoffed, “who the hell  _ would _ ? You’d have to live to see all your friends and family, everyone you know, die right in front of you. And then you keep living, for god only knows how long after that. I’d rather throw myself into the ocean than see that happen!”

“Hm, I think it could be kind of interesting. You’d get to see how the world slowly changes over time. Then, like you say, once you get tired of it then-”

Thatch tossed his apple core into the sea, where it made a tiny splash of seafoam “-sploosh!”

“I guess, yoi.”

“Maybe you could let me borrow your fruit sometime, I wouldn’t mind a shot at being an  _ almost  _ immortal phoenix.” Thatch said with a wink. Marco stared at him for a few seconds, not sure if he was serious or not.

“That was a joke.”

“Right.” Marco said slowly, as he started to walk away. 

“Hey!” Thatch called after him. “Maybe if you do live forever, it’ll be long enough for you to grow a sense of humour!”   
“Fuck you!” Marco yelled back, as he flapped up to the crow’s nest. He made sure Thatch didn’t see the smile growing on his face.


	7. Coby and Sabo - Law vs chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this probably takes place not long after Marineford/Ace's death.

“Never thought I’d be sitting down to have a drink with a Marine.”

Coby chuckled nervously, despite the lack of amusement in Sabo’s tone. “Well, I could say the same for you!”

This man, Sabo the Revolutionary, had no reason to be civil with him, or even to not just attack him on the spot. And yet he didn’t move when Coby sat beside him at the bar. Sabo’s shoulders were stiff under his long black coat and his expression was one of mild disgust.

“You’re Luffy’s brother, aren’t you?” Coby said.

Sabo’s dark blue eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”

“Because he told me?” Coby chuckled. “He saved me from a pirate called Alvida, and he helped me find a Marine base so I could join up. I owe a lot to him!”

“Luffy helped _ you _ sign up to the Marines?”

“Well, yeah! I told him it was my dream for as long as I could remember, and he said he would help me. He’s a really good person.”

A low chuckle rumbled out of Sabo. “A Marine who’s a fan of a pirate, you must be popular back at HQ.”

Sabo fell quiet, the only sound from him the clattering of ice in his cup as he sipped his drink. He clenched his glass as he stared down into the liquid. “His grandpa wanted him to be a Marine, practically drilled it into him through his childhood that that was what he was gonna be.”

“Luffy could’ve been a-”

“He never would have ever agreed,” Sabo said, interrupting him smoothly, “When we were kids, the three of us said we were going to be freer than anyone else. The Marines stand for the exact opposite of freedom.”

“W-well, what some people see as freedom, others see as chaos. Pirates have caused so much damage over the years. Criminal empires and looting and-”   
“So, you believe in Absolute Justice, like Sakazuki?”

Absolute Justice, dying Marines being thrown aside, left to bleed and die and _scream_ -

“N-no way, I think it’s our duty to protect the people first. That’s why we’re Marines - we’re here to protect the people from evildoers.”

Sabo snorted. “You’re misguided for thinking so, the Marines were formed first and foremost to protect the status and interests of the World Government. Anything they tell you about their purpose being to ‘defend the common folk’ is just propaganda.”

“O-oh.”

Sabo put his empty glass down with a thud. “I don’t think we have anything else to discuss. I’d rather not talk to anyone who works for the man who killed my brother.”

The revolutionary abruptly left the bar, after tossing down a handful of change. Coby looked at the pitiful scatter of coins with his brow wrinkled.

“Huh, Luffy’s brother is kind of a tight bastard.”


	8. Ace/Sanji - Weird hobbies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lil bit of suggestive talk in this one but not much.

“You got any hobbies?” Ace said.

Sanji shrugged as he flipped the contents of the pan, a colourful medley of rice and veggies arcing into the air before he caught it again. He waved at the pan as if to say ‘you’re looking at it’.

Ace propped his elbow up on the table in the galley of the Merry, then rested his chin on his hand. “Nah, that’s your  _ job _ , I’m talkin’ about stuff you do just for fun.”

“I don’t have a lot of time for ‘fun’, running around feeding these assholes all day. Plus preparing new drinks and desserts for the ladies.”

“C’mon, there must be something!”

Sanji thought for a moment. “When I was a kid I liked reading. Sometimes I ask Miss Robin whatever book she has on the go and she tells me about it. But I couldn’t find a moment of spare time to read any of it myself.”

_ Let alone the kind of stuff she reads. _ Sanji thought. Whenever he asked, it was some kind of dense historical text, about long lost civilizations and how ancient peoples lived.

“What kinda stuff you like to read?”

“Astronomy, devil fruits, fables and fairytales, that kind of thing.”

Ace made a thoughtful noise and Sanji felt his eyes in his back as he finished up the fried rice. Sometimes he felt like Ace was sizing him up, to steal him away for his own crew. Ace and Luffy both loved his cooking so much, he wondered if the brothers would end up fighting over him, like two dogs trying to grab the same chew toy.   
Ace’s eyes were still on him when he turned around, dark and scrutinising - glittering with amusement. “I was hopin’ you said you did somethin’ weird in your spare time, like competitive cheese wheel rolling.”

Sanji made an offended noise. “ Only if the cheese can be eaten afterwards, that sounds like a terrible waste of food.”

Ace laughed. “I tried to get into eatin’ contests myself, but I always fell asleep and ran out the timer! Got a good meal out of it at least.”

“I don’t know if eating can really be considered a ‘hobby’.”

“Sure it can! Anything can be a hobby; fashion, fishing, fu-”

“Yes, I think I see where this is going.”

Ace grinned, and Sanji slid his rice towards him before he could think about continuing that sentence.


	9. Franky and Usopp - Insecurity

Usopp belted out a laugh at Franky, from where he sat at his drafting desk. “Insecure, you?! You spend practically every single moment of every single day running around hooting about how great you are!”

“It’s true, kiddo.” Franky said, with a solemn nod. “Sometimes the folks that seem the most confident are really the most scared outta anyone.”

Franky shot him the hint of a raised blue brow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Usopp coughed awkwardly. “But back to you, instead of me; were you really  _ that _ insecure?”

“Yeah! I must have been… about six years old when my parents tossed me away like forgotten trash. I guess after that I surrounded myself with people, cause I didn’t feel like being alone again. I wanted to become someone no-one could ignore, even if they tried.”

“Well, you succeeded, with great panache.” Usopp muttered.

“Fake it ‘til you make it!”

Usopp chuckled, but then frowned as a small realisation hit him. “I thought I’d spent enough time ‘faking it’ by now. I’ve been sailing with this crew for over two years, by now I thought I’d actually start feeling like a brave, confident guy.”

Franky got up, walking over to Usopp. He grunted as Franky slapped his huge hand over his shoulder. “Hey. I’m sure you’ve improved in a thousand little ways over the course of your journey, it’s okay if you’re not quite ‘there’ yet.”

“And hey, even if you never get ‘there’,” Franky continued, walking back over to his desk. “maybe it’s never something you needed to overcome in the first place. Bravery isn’t the absence of fear and yadda yadda…”

Franky shuffled his papers around, as if looking for something. “In the meantime. you want to run around the Sunny and yell about how great we are?”

Franky produced a colourful line of pennant flags on strings, a few of them with ‘Super!’ written on them in garish pastel colours.

“Hell yeah!” 


	10. Usopp and Chopper - Fishing

“This is so exciting!” Chopper sai d.   
Usopp opene d his mouth to reply, but a yawn came out instead. The sun was beating down them as they perched on the rail of the Merry, their fishing lines out but their baskets empty. 

“What do you mean?” Usopp said, with a hint of grumpiness. There was barely any breeze to be had, and the Merry was moving through the waves with all the expedience of a fat sea slug. 

“It’s the anticipation!” Chopper said brightly, his big black eyes fixed on the surface of the water. “We could get a catch at any moment, and then Sanji will make us something delicious out of it!”   
Usopp gave his friend a lopsided smile, he had only just taught Chopper how to hold the fishing rod in his little hooves, while Usopp himself had been fishing long before that. He ha d to learn how to fish before he even left his village, otherwise he didn’t eat.

“What kind of fish do you think we’ll catch first?”

“I think-” Usopp paused for dramatic effect, “it’ll be a six-foot long, seven-eyed Shubunkin with golden scales.”

“Huh? You think something like that exists?”   
“I guess we’ll find out!”

Chopper muttered something about hoping for Red Mullet before falling silent.

Usopp had nearly nodded off, tipping dangerously forward and almost falling into the sea when his line twitched.

“Woah!” Usopp cried as Chopper shifted into Heavy Point to grab him. With Chopper holding him in place, he managed to struggle with the fish until he reeled it half out of the water.

It was a rather large Shubunkin, with golden scales and-

_ One, two, three, four, five… _

Usopp and Chopper stared at each other.

“We can’t really  _ eat _ something like this, should we?” Usopp said quietly.

“I think it would be a sin…”

“Maybe we should throw it back…”


	11. Zoro and Brook - The Sunny

Brook tackled Zoro sometime after lunch, almost literally due to the way he appeared suddenly in Zoro’s path. He figured Brook was still adjusting to having other people around.

“Goo d morning,  Mr. Zoro sir! May  I discuss something with you?”

“Sure.”

Brook twined his long, skeletal digits together, making a noise like some sort of wooden percussion instrument. 

“Is there something wrong?” Zoro probed. He hadn’t known Brook for long, but his posture seemed more awkward than usual.

Brook continued fiddling with his hands,  _ scrape scrape scrape.  _ “It’s a very new ship.”

“Yes.”

“Lots of new timber smells.”

“Yes?”

“Well. It’s a little  _ distracting _ , I had become accustomed to the smell of rotting wood. I am finding it a little hard to get anything done.”

Zoro wasn’t sure what to say.

“Ah, I apologize Mr. Zoro. I don’t intend to burden you with this.”

“Come with me.”

Zoro took Brook up to the crow’s nest and made him sit cross-legged on the floor of the gym.

“Close your eyes. Or your uh- nevermind.”   
Zoro took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, and Brook did the same… However little sense that made. He was starting to think he shouldn’t question anything that went on with Brook’s biology.

“Take a moment each day to take in your surroundings,” Zoro said, “the smells, the sounds, the creaking of the ship… We’re all getting used to her, too. So you’re not alone.”

Brook’s skeletal face looked oddly contorted as he followed after Zoro, taking more deep breaths.

“If the smell of the lumber is bothering you, concentrate on that first. Breathe it in deep.”

Brook took a deep whiff. “Why, it smells rather like you up here, Mr. Zoro! I can hardly smell anything else.”   
A vein throbbed in Zoro’s forehead as the crow’s nest filled with the sound of Brook’s laughter. “ _ Fine!  _ We can go somewhere else.”

The library was probably the least used room on the Sunny so far, and therefore had the most ‘new room’ smell out of any of them. Brook guided Zoro here, and Zoro could see that he had his sheet music stand and his violin propped up nearby. This would be a more ideal spot, if he had already chosen it as his spot.

Zoro sat on the floor again, in the Lotus position, and Brook did the same.

“The smell will go away the more we uh,  _ live _ on this ship. But if you meditate like this every day for a while, you’ll eventually stop noticing it.”

Brook made a thoughtful noise, trying not to jab Zoro with his long limbs as he contorted them into the right position.

“If you’re having trouble concentrating,” Zoro continued, “repeat a phrase to yourself if you think it would help.”

“May I sing?  _ Yohohohoooo-”  _ Brook started to hum.

“No!”

“Well, may I say it instead?”

“...Sure.”

Brook muttered  _ yohohoho  _ to himself, in various inflections and styles before settling on one. A short ‘yohoho’ followed by a long, deep  _ ‘ohhhhh’. _

They fell into silence for a while, until Zoro felt like they had been meditating long enough and took another breath to finish.

“I believe I came to you initially because I feel rather out of place.” Brook said quietly. “The Sunny is so new and beautiful and I’m well, the  _ opposite _ of that.”

Zoro looked at Brook, waiting for him to continue.

“After so long on my old ship I had begun to feel like that was where I belonged, until the day I died. A ghastly skeleton aboard a haunted ship.”

“You belong here now.” Zoro said simply. “And you’re not haunting it. The only thing haunting this ship is the idiot pervert cook.”

He got up, stretching languidly as he did so. “Come to me if you feel like this again, Brook. I’d be happy to meditate with you again.”

“Thank you very much Mr. Zoro sir!”


	12. Franky and Zoro - Metal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in the Tiger by the Tail modern au, wayyyy after the story which WOOPS I still haven't completed yet.

“I’m still tryin’ to think up a name for this place.” Franky muses, as he slides Zoro’s drink across the bar. “Whatcha think of Franky house: Two?”

“Why not just call it ‘Franky House’? It looks the same as the old one.” Zoro says, as he prises his drink open with his teeth before Franky can offer to open it for him.

Franky tuts at him. “That’s no fun! It’s gotta be somethin’ new, otherwise it’s bad luck!”

Franky turns to fiddle with the stereo system as Zoro throws his sake back, his mind full of what he needs to do to get ready for the bar’s grand re-opening. 

“I better get some more of that sake stuff in, if you’re gonna make this your new haunt until you get a new job.”

“Tch, you better. These bottles are  _ tiny.”  _ Zoro says, then thumps his bottle down. Franky is quick to slide him a new one.

“I should put you to work as a bartender, you seem to know your booze well enough.”

Zoro flips him off as he takes another huge quaff of sake, the run-off dribbling onto the bar.

Franky picks a CD at random and shoves it into the disc tray, mostly just to cover up the sounds of hammering coming from the roof. Zambai and the others are still finishing up the roof, and probably doing a shitty job of it. It’ll give the new place some character at least.

A heavy metal song bursts out of the stereo system, making Zoro jump and dribble more booze down the front of his shirt. 

Franky nods in satisfaction. “Hey, I finally got that subwoofer workin’!”

“Can you turn that down?!” Zoro snaps, having to raise his voice to be heard above the thundering drumbeat and harsh vocals.

“No way, kiddo. My bar - my rules!”

“What the hell is this crap?!”

“It’s Heavy Metal! Y’know, they say this kind of music is as complex as Classical.”   
“Yeah? That would explain why they’re both trash. If I wanted to hear this much screaming I’d go back to Impel Down!”

“I find it soothing!”

Franky hums along with the music as he opens the dishwasher, the bass from the drums rattles the glasses inside as he pulls them out. 

When he straightens up to put the clean glasses away, Zoro has his head down on the bar with his hands over his ears. He glares at Franky with a murderous look in his one eye.

“So, you’re more of a Country guy, I take it?” Franky says with a grin.


	13. Drake and Coby - Justice

_"What does justice mean to you?"_ **  
**

A question that Drake's drill sergeant had pounded into him, and into the rest of the Marine rookies that he had been a part of for many years. 

Despite how many times he had been asked, he never quite knew that answer. So, when his pink-haired young companion asked it out of the blue, he answered honestly. 

"I don't know. You're talking to someone who burned down a village of civilians to stay under cover." Drake said into his Transponder Snail attachment. "Sometimes it feels like walking down a long, treacherous road through a mist; rocky and unclear, and likely to tumble off the side and break a leg." 

His fellow SWORD agent chuckled from the other end of the call. 

"I didn't expect you to get so philosophical on me, Mr Diez." Coby said. 

“I've been pretending to be a pirate for so long, sometimes I think philosophy is all I've got.”

His mind flickered back, unwillingly, to his father. Killed by Donquixote Donflamingo, when his younger self had wanted nothing more for his cruel bastard of a father to drop dead. It had probably just been a semi-random twist of fate, or sleight of hand from a capricious God... But it had allowed Drake’s younger self to finally escape that monster and start a new life.

Whatever it was, it _felt_ like justice. 

“Do you know about Diez Barrels?” Drake said.

“I uh-” 

“You don’t have to be polite, Coby.”

“Yes, sorry, I know the story.”

Drake shuffled slightly where he sat, in an abandoned shack where he had taken to having these kinds of calls in private. Even after all these years, he still hesitated to call the man his ‘father’.

“He was a Marine turned pirate, killed when his own greed got to him... I wonder sometimes if justice is a universal constant. The same way the planets fall into orbit around each other, if everyone is destined to get what’s coming to them in the end.”

“‘What goes around comes around’?” Coby recited. “It’s an interesting thing to think about, justice being a kind of supernatural force. Almost like Karma”

“Makes me wonder what’s in store for me once this is all over.” Drake said, with a humourless laugh. “I’ve done some terrible things over the past couple of years, to a lot of innocent people.”

“But if it’s all for the greater good, it will be worth it in the end, right?” Coby said.

Drake stared around at the dilapidated, once-burned village around him, at all the places the villagers used to live before he helped destroy it. The burned timbers and scattered belongings of the fleeing villagers were quickly becoming damp as it started to rain.

“Yeah, the greater good.”


	14. Law and Sanji - Embarrassing Moments

Law folds his arms over his chest and sighs. The time spent waiting for a fight to start is longer than any other waiting time he knew. His only companion, Sanji, leans against a wall with a cigarette. The scent always gives Law a funny punch to the chest; acrid and irritating, yet deeply nostalgic. The only other thing he has nostalgia for is Sora: Warrior of the Sea comics, which is a strange connection given the ‘Soba Mask’ getup Law has seen Sanji wear.

He glances at Sanji a moment longer, and the man is quick to flick a sapphire-blue eye his way, asking, “What?”   
“You’re not much for conversation, are you?” Law grumbles.

“I thought we were in a comfortable silence,” Sanji breathes out a mouthful of smoke, “why, you want to talk about something?”   
“Yes,” Law snaps, “God,  _ anything.” _

“You’re anxious, huh? Maybe you should take up smoking.”

“Very funny.”

Law huffs a little, sometimes he filches a cigarette or two, just to try and recapture that nostalgic feeling. But the smoke always catches in his throat and leaves him with the bitter taste of ashes in his mouth. He decided a while ago that it wasn’t for him.

“What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you?” Law asks, scowling at Sanji’s confused noise. “It was the first thing that came to mind.”

“I don’t know whether to take offense at that or not.” 

Sanji flicks away his cigarette stub, lighting another one straight on its tail. “You strike me as the type who gets embarrassed by most things.” Sanji snarks, “You think you’re too  _ cool  _ for it all.”

“Oh, and you’re not?” Law shoots back. “Big talk for someone who wears shit like  _ that _ into battle.”

Sanji glances down at his outfit, a pressed, pure black three-piece suit with a white tie and leather gloves. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I can’t help but think about embarrassments,” Law continues, “it’s usually the feeling I get every time I’ve been within three feet of your captain! At Dressrosa he spent half the time carrying me around like a sack of potatoes.”

Sanji snorts, his canines flashing in a grin for just a second or two.

“Yeah, I’m sure it was hilarious,” Law continues, “for everyone  _ except _ me.”

“If you think that’s embarrassing, I haven’t told you about the time he saved us by hiding an octopus down his pants.”

“Do I even  _ want _ to know that story?”   
“Probably not. It was a second-hand kind of embarrassment anyway.”

Sanji continues smoking, burning ash dropping onto his gloves, a faraway look in his eye as if he could care less about it. “My biggest embarrassment... It sounds stupid, given everything else, but during that fiasco on Whole Cake Island-” Sanji stops for a moment to take a long drag on his cigarette, breathing deep before continuing, “-There was a brief time I was really ready to make it work; leave my life as a pirate behind and marry that girl. If that’s not embarrassing, I don’t know what is.”   
Law made a thoughtful noise. “You wanted to make the best out of a bad situation, that’s not ‘embarrassing’.”

“I felt like I was giving up a piece of my soul, debasing myself so no one would get hurt. And for that, I ended up hurting one of the people I care about most in the world terribly. You don’t think that’s embarrassing?”

“I suppose that is pretty embarrassing for you.”

Law jolts at the signal for the fight to start, a catastrophic shout of ‘ _ GEAR FOURTH!’ _ coming from somewhere over the wall. He groans, “Time to go, Blackleg-ya.”

Sanji rolls his shoulders and snuffs out his cigarette under his heel. “I thought you were going to share more embarrassing stories.” he says, as they make their way towards the battlefield. 

Law feels a few ominous rumbles under his feet and wince. “After this battle, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to tell.”


	15. Franky/Robin - Marriage

It takes a while, for Franky to ask the question that’s been burning inside him. “What do you think of marriage?”

He winces as soon as he says it, because he thinks he knows the answer. He chose today to take Robin to the botanical gardens, a good setting to speak alone with her. No one is around to disturb them, just the gentle flutter of multicoloured petals in the air. 

Robin smiles that smile he loves, like she’s telling a private joke with herself. “I never imagined someone would ever want to marry someone like me.”

Franky’s jaw hits the ground almost literally. He should probably tighten up some of the screws in his face sometime. “Really?! But, you’re  _ beautiful!  _ And smart, and-”   
“And a demon child. I never thought that common romantic ideals were ever meant for me, so I stopped thinking about them.” Robin pauses, laughter on her lips. “Until I met you, anyway.”

Her words sink deep into his heart and grip it hard, almost like her hands are there squeezing it.

Franky blushes deep and reaches into his pocket, fondling the project he’s spent the last few months slaving over. He knows little about gem cutting, but when he had spied the little purple stone glinting in the low light of a cave… Well, he knew he  _ had  _ to get it for her. 

He had chipped away at the stone surrounding it, a difficult task since most of his weapons were made for smashing and breaking indiscriminately. Sweat had poured down his forehead as he slowly chipped away for hours, to make sure he didn’t damage the fragile beauty of the tiny rock he sought. Until one of the crew - Sanji probably - had asked just what the hell he was doing, that they had to ship out soon. 

He had begged the man for just an hour more, until he successfully broke the chunk of rock away. 

Hiding it from the rest of the crew had been another difficult task.

He made up some excuse about finding an interesting material for a new weapon, or something along those lines to dodge questions about what he was really doing.

Franky had chipped and polished and shaped the stone, his hands would have bled had they still been made of flesh and blood, then made a ring out of white gold.

“It was meant for you, Nico Robin, it’s  _ always _ been meant for you. You’ve just spent too much time around folks telling you that it’s not.”

Franky kneels down in front of her, gently taking her hands.

“Nico Robin, will you marry me?”

A wobbly smile spread across Robin’s face, her big blue eyes flooding with tears.

“Yes, Franky my dear,  _ yes!” _


	16. Luffy and Nami - Childhood

Nami often feels like her life on the Straw Hat crew is a balancing act. She isn’t just their navigator and early-warning system for bad weather, she has the unenviable task of handling the crew’s finances. And, on top of that she’s responsible for writing the ship’s log, too.

Some day, when Luffy has become the Pirate King and all is said and done, someone is going to want to know about the crew that travelled with him.

Too bad her crew suck at giving her any information she can work with.

Every earth-shattering incident the Strawhats caused on every island they landed on has brought them closer, but Nami can’t say that she really  _ knows _ her crew that much. Sanji is a lockbox when it comes to his past, usually deflecting any questions with a cry of  _ ‘Ah, it’s sweet of you to ask, Miss Nami!’ _

It’s a similar story whenever she’s curious for more details about Robin. 

Usopp and Chopper are more open about their pasts, Zoro too, in a sort of blunt, uncaring way. 

But Luffy- Luffy is a total enigma. Even moreso when he randomly decides to blurt out something at dinner that makes the room fall silent;

“I had a brother, he died.”

Luffy had fallen back to vacuuming up his food, as if he hadn’t said anything, while the rest of the crew stared at him.

Nami goes out to find him after that train wreck of a dinner is over, a notebook and pen in her hand. Any scrap of information she can get out of him will do. He’s sat in his usual spot, on the figurehead of the Merry watching the sun start to go down.

“Hey, Luffy.” Nami says. “At dinner, what  _ was  _ that?”

Luffy doesn’t turn around. “Hm? What was what?” 

"It’s not the kind of thing you blurt out in the middle of a casual conversation! Were you raised in a barn?" 

Luffy quirks his brows at her, genuinely confused. "No? I was raised on a mountain." 

"Oh." Nami pauses, scratching her head, really she should have seen that coming. "You didn't have a home at all?" 

"Dadan let me and my brothers stay at her place, but most of the time we slept in this big tree house we built together!" 

Nami moves over to him to lean against the rail near the figurehead. "Why haven't you mentioned any of this before?" 

"No one ever  _ asked  _ before!" Luffy flops onto his back to stare at her upside down. "You ever meet those people who just tell you their life story, even though you never asked? It's annoying, I  _ hate _ that crap!" 

"Okay, okay, but  _ jeez _ , you never even told us you had brothers." 

"You never a-" 

"I KNOW WE NEVER ASKED!" Nami presses two fingers to her forehead and sighs. “It’s the kind of thing I would’ve thought I’d known about you by now, we’ve been sailing together almost a  _ year  _ now.”

Luffy stares at her blankly, until she reaches for her notebook and waves it at him. “Well,  _ anyway _ , do you mind if I record some of this in the ship’s log? Someone might want to know your history some day.”

“We have a ship’s log?”   
“ _ Yes! _ I’ve been writing one since we left Cocoyashi!”

“Sure. Go ahead I guess.”

She pulls out her notebook to make a few notes, Luffy follows the movements of her pen with his entire head, not just his eyes. “Is stuff about your past in there?”

“Yeah, writing about it wasn’t that easy.”

She finishes her sentence, then pauses to fiddle with the pen. "Although, my childhood was actually pretty good before Arlong. I mean, apart from being broke. Maybe it's just nostalgia making me say that." 

"Hm? Nostalgia?" 

"You know, when you have fond memories of a certain point in your life, even when you didn't think it was that great at the time?" 

"Ah, I guess. Can you be nostalgic when it makes you sad at the same time?”

Startled, Nami jerks her head around to look at him. He says it so casually, she almost didn't register it. 

“Yeah, I get sad whenever I make my mom’s orange sauce. But it makes me happy at the same time.”

“That’s how I feel whenever I think about Sabo. We had so much fun together, but sometimes I get so sad I can’t stand it.”

Luffy’s posture slumps, and she gets the feeling his eyes are fixed on a certain point on the horizon. Nami reaches up to pat his shoulder, before turning to walk away. “We can talk about the log another time.”


	17. Zoro and Luffy - Spices

"Swirls is gonna pitch a fit." 

"It'll be fine, Zoro! Stand still!" 

Luffy sneezed suddenly, violently, almost causing Zoro to lose his grip on his calves. He squeezed down harder and grunted as Luffy's elbows knocked into the top of his head. 

"You're one to talk about 'staying still'" Zoro grumbled. "What are you rummaging around in his spice rack for, anyway?" 

Tiny bottles rained down onto the kitchen counter and clattered around. 

"I’ve gotta get back at Usopp for replacing my shampoo with pepper sauce- No, that's not the one!" 

A bottle of garlic powder popped open as it fell, filling the kitchen with the sharp pong Zoro knew would take forever to get out of his clothes.

"Will the cycle of revenge ever stop?" Zoro muttered to himself. He'd lost track of how long the pair had been feuding. He had a feeling it started when they'd been fishing, and Usopp knocked the brightly coloured fish Luffy had caught into the sea. It had probably been extremely poisonous judging by the colourful stripes on its skin, and the venomous spines sticking out of it. 

Not that Luffy had wanted to listen. 

"Don't you think fucking with his ingredients goes into his rule about not wasting food?" 

Zoro felt Luffy tense up, the muscles under his fingers tightening. 

"Oh shit, you think? I thought they didn't count, cause you cant sit and eat a bottle of spices." 

"Most people can't,  _ you  _ probably could." 

Luffy continued his rummaging, slapping down his hand on the top of Zoro's head to lean further upward. 

"AHA!" Luffy yelled triumphantly. "Cayenne pepper- perfect! Okay, you can let me down now, Zoro." 

The door slammed open behind them. Zoro knew who was standing there without having to look. 

"Aw shit! Zoro, go! Onwards!" Luffy squawked, tapping his heels against Zoro’s chest like he was urging on a horse.

Zoro wasn't sure where he was expecting them to go, with their exit blocked by a Love-Cook so furious he was silent and seething, but Zoro was there to carry out his Captain's wishes. 

Zoro barged past the furious cook. When Luffy's head smacked into the doorframe and he suddenly found his captain missing from his shoulders, he left to let him face Sanji's wrath alone. 

He was just following orders, anyway. 

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to throw me a request on my tumblr cowboyzoro send me: two characters + a topic of conversation and I might write it.  
> (bear in mind that I'm only one man and if this collection explodes in popularity I might not be able to get to them all. I'll generally pick the ones I think I can spin into a story, love you).


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